UK lawmaker denies he broke lobbying rules

LONDON (AP) — A British lawmaker says he will temporarily step down as chairman of a parliamentary committee after undercover reporters appeared to show him claiming he could use his role to help a company.

Tim Yeo, a lawmaker with the governing Conservative Party, was secretly filmed by Sunday Times reporters who posed as representatives of a fictional energy company.

The paper posted footage showing Yeo apparently suggesting he had coached a businessman with an existing company on how to influence his House of Commons' Energy and Climate Change Committee.

On Monday, Yeo said he would step aside as chairman of the committee while the claims are investigated by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner.

He insisted he had not breached parliamentary rules when he spoke to the undercover reporters.